The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, challenging alleged violations of his fundamental rights by the Federal Government.
A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Boloukuromo Ugo, struck out the case on Friday, ruling that the matter had become purely academic following Kanu’s conviction and sentencing by the Federal High Court.
Kanu had listed the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as respondents in the suit.
According to the court, Kanu’s counsel, Maxwell Opara, confirmed that his client is currently serving his sentence at the Sokoto Correctional Centre. As a result, the appellate court held that a key request in the appeal—seeking Kanu’s transfer from DSS custody to Kuje prison—was no longer applicable.
The court further noted that since Kanu had previously expressed a preference for being held in prison custody, his current detention at the Sokoto facility already aligned with that request. It therefore declared the appeal lacking in merit and struck it out.
Kanu had approached the appellate court to challenge the July 3 decision of Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, which dismissed his fundamental rights enforcement suit.
It will be recalled that on November 20, Justice James Omotosho convicted the IPOB leader on a seven-count terrorism charge and sentenced him to life imprisonment, ruling that the prosecution had successfully proved its case.
